NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. –Ryan Daly scored 23 points while Eric Carter added a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds as the seventh-seeded University of Delaware men’s basketball team defeated 10th-seeded Elon, 86-79, in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Championship Saturday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.

The Blue Hens, who won a CAA Tournament First Round game for the second straight year, improve to 14-18 and will take on second-seeded Northeastern in Sunday’s quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Elon, which dropped its sixth in a row, ended its season with a 14-18 mark.

Daly (left) notched is ninth 20-point effort of the season, while Carter recorded his 12th double-double of the campaign. Ryan Allen(below) contributed 14 points and hit three triples to tie the UD single season record for three-pointers made, while Anthony Mosley was the fourth Blue Hen in double figures with 13 points. Delaware shot 57.4 percent from the field and knocked down 18 free throws on the night.

Dmitri Thompson paced Elon with a game-high 27 points, all but five in the second half, while Tyler Seibring chipped in 15 points and nine rebounds.

Elon jumped out to a 10-2 lead five minutes into the game, but Delaware quickly responded to knot the game at 13-13 on a Darian Bryant layup at the 11:10 mark of the half. The Blue Hens then used a nine-point spurt to go up 24-15, and Allen buried consecutive three-pointers in the final minute to give Delaware a 41-30 advantage at the break.

Elon pulled within three points twice early in the second half, the second time at 52-49, but Delaware scored 11 of the next 14 points to go back up 11 on an Allen three-pointer with 11 minutes to play.

The Blue Hens went ahead by as much as 13 twice, the second time at 71-58 at the 5:48 mark, and although the Phoenix closed within five in the final minute, Delaware hit four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

HEAD COACH MARTIN INGELSBY“This was a great team effort, we really battled tonight. We got into a good flow offensively, and the zone was really good to us. Ryan Daly was terrific and Eric Carter had a fabulous night, he played like one of the best big guys in the league. We did a great job of handling the basketball against their pressure, and just need to do a better job of hitting our free throws. Northeastern is really good, but we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

RYAN DALY“I got into a good rhythm offensively, and I was just trying to make plays to help my team win. I didn’t want us to be one and done down here, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

HEN SCRATCHINGS• Daly reached double figures for the 25th consecutive game• Carter became the 32nd player in UD history to grab 500 career rebounds• Allen tied the UD single season three-pointer record of 86 also held by John Gordon in 1998-99• Mosley needs 13 more points to reach 1,000 for his career• The 165 combined points are the second most in a CAA Tournament First Round game• Elon leads the all-time series, 7-3, but the Blue Hens have won the last two meetings• The schools were meeting for the first time in the postseason

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